Betking_NG_Weekend-Top-Events.jpg

The excitement continues this weekend with the main attraction being the Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool. After spending £434m last summer and still languishing in mid-table obscurity, Mauricio Pochettino will look to put some gloss on what has been a disappointing season by landing a first trophy as Blues’ boss. The million-dollar question, however; can he stop the mighty Liverpool? 

We will preview that game, as well as 5 other matches being played across Europe’s top leagues this weekend. Our goal? To offer you the best football prediction that could help you land that elusive big win. 


**Manchester United vs Fulham** 

Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are certainly in their best form of the season, unbeaten in 7 games, and riding a 5-game winning streak. United came through unscathed last weekend, but there were warning signs after Luton hit the woodwork in the final moments. Still, the mood around Old Trafford is positive, the team is winning, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has finally completed a deal to buy a 27.7% stake in the club.  

With just a five-point gap separating them from the team just above them; Aston Villa in fourth place, the hosts will be confident of closing that gap even further when they face Fulham this weekend thanks to an impressive H2H record against the Cottagers. The Red Devils have won 15 of the last 18 meetings between these two sides, including four consecutive victories under Ten Hag. 

A visit to Old Trafford has been challenging for Fulham fans over the years, as they haven’t celebrated a win at the venue since October 2003 (D2, L14). Their recent form doesn’t inspire any confidence either and a run of just one win in their last 8 games across all competitions means an upset is unlikely. 

**Verdict:** United are the better side and recent history suggests this fixture will only go one way. Fulham have also been dreadful on the road this season, picking up just 7 points on their travels and zero wins in 11 away games since August (D4, L7) 

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice against Luton to take his tally to 8 goals in his last 8 games. At this point, he’s United’s main goalscoring threat and we are backing him to score again. 

_Take advantage of the best football tips for today by backing the Red Devils to win with Hojlund to get on the scoresheet._ 

● Bet on Manchester United to win and over 2.5 goals 

● Bet on Hojlund to score anytime 

**Arsenal vs Newcastle** 

Arsenal started 2024 with five straight victories but were brought back down to earth by a 94th-minute goal that condemned them to defeat in the UEFA Champions League against Porto on Wednesday. Manager Mikel Arteta bemoaned his side’s “lack of threat” going forward, as the Gunners failed to register a single shot on target, a surprise after scoring 21 goals in their first five Premier League games of the year.  

Arteta’s men simply cannot afford any setbacks when they face Newcastle United on Saturday. The Gunners currently trail league leaders Liverpool by five points with a game in hand and must capitalize on home advantage, where they have lost only once in the league since May 2023 (W10, D2, L1). 

The 2023/24 season has been a disappointment for Newcastle United. Early elimination from the Champions’ League group stage, and their current position of 8th on the standings, trailing the top four by a significant 12 points means that Eddie Howe has very little margin for error left.  

A five-match unbeaten run over the past month (W3, D2) does suggest things are starting to improve, although the Magpies still needed to come from behind twice to draw with Bournemouth last week.  

The Emirates has not been a fun place for Newcastle to visit in recent years, with the Magpies winless across their last 12 visits to North London (D1, L11), and failing to score in any of the last eight games.  

**Verdict:** Arsenal are very strong at home and after the Champions League setback, you can expect the Gunners to be eager to bounce back with a win in front of home support. In six of the Gunners’ last seven games before the mid-week defeat, there were at least three goals scored. As a result, our bet of the day is an Arsenal win and over 2.5 goals. 

Martin Odegaard has contributed to 4 goals in Arsenal’s last 2 games (G2, A2), and we’ll back him him to find the net in this one. 

● Bet on Arsenal to win 

● Bet on over 2.5 goals 

● Bet on Martin Odegaard to score anytime 

**Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig** 

Thomas Tuchel’s time at Bayern Munich has been one to forget. The German giants are now 8 points off Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, out of the DFB-Pokal, and are trailing in their UEFA Champions League tie against Lazio. As a result, he Bavarians are facing an unprecedented trophyless season for the first time since 2012. 

Bayern welcome Leipzig to the Allianz Arena on a run of 3 straight defeats in all competitions and will be hoping to get back to winning ways. However, Leipzig are no easy opponents and Tuchel’s men are actually on a run of 3 games without a win in this fixture (D2, L1). 

However, winning 8 of their last 9 home league games should fill the hosts with confidence, especially as they have scored at least three times in seven of those victories. 

Leipzig also lost their Champions League first leg 1-0 to Real Madrid, and their recent league performances have been mediocre at best (2 wins in 7), but their main goal is to finish in the top-four, and they are on track to achieve that. The Red Bulls are currently 5th with 40 points from 22 games, one point behind 4th-placed Borussia Dortmund. 

**Verdict:** Both teams need to win for different reasons, but Bayern are more desperate, and need to arrest their recent wretched run. The Bavarians have struggled against Leipzig recently, managing just one win in their last five meetings. However, this fixture has consistently delivered goals, with seven of the last nine meetings featuring at least four goals. 

Lois Openda has scored 6 goals in his last 9 games and was on the scoresheet in the reverse fixture in September.  

Harry Kane, despite a rough week, remains the league’s leading scorer with 25 goals in 22 games, and we are backing him to score again. 

Take advantage of our expert betting tips by Lois Openda and Harry Kane to both get on the scoresheet for either side. 

● Bet on over 3.5 goals 

● Bet on Lois Openda to score anytime  

● Bet on Harry Kane to score anytime 

**Bournemouth vs Manchester City** 

Bournemouth fans might be forgiven for starting to panic as the Cherries have now gone six Premier League games without a win (D3, L3). Despite that, the hosts still come into this fixture with an eight-point buffer to the drop zone but will need to be at their absolute best to maintain that gap. 

The Cherries have a 100% losing record against Manchester City in the Premier League, with 13 league losses to the Cityzens. This stands as the worst losing record against a single opponent in the history of English top-flight football. 

City closed the gap on leaders Liverpool to just a point on Tuesday night thanks to a 1-0 win over Brentford, although the Reds reclaimed their 4-point lead the following night with a 4-1 win over Luton Town. 

City still have a game in hand, and with Jurgen Klopp’s men involved in the Carabao Cup final this weekend, Guardiola’s men can apply pressure with a fourteenth straight victory against Bournemouth. That victory against Brentford stretched City’s unbeaten run to 16 matches (D2, W14) as the reigning champions look to be finding their groove at the right time.  

It hasn’t been plain sailing for Pep’s men away from home this season as they’ve conceded first in each of their last six Premier League away games, but on the flip side, the Champions are on a 4-game winning run on the road and could make it 5 at the Vitality Stadium this weekend.  

**Verdict:** Manchester City have a 100% record in this fixture, and Bournemouth has failed to win any of their last 12 Premier League matches against sides starting the weekend in the top-four. 

Erling Haaland scored against Brentford to make it 3 in his last 3, and now has 17 league goals for the season. He’s going to be favored to score again here. The Champions have not been as solid defensively as they have been in recent seasons, conceding in 7 of their last 8 away matches and we are backing Bournemouth to register here. 

 

Boost your chances of landing that elusive big win by taking advantage of our football betting tips – back Man City to win a high-scoring game, with Haaland to score. 

● Bet on Man City to win and both teams to score 

● Bet on Erling Haaland to score anytime  

**Paris Saint-Germain vs Rennes** 

Ligue 1 leaders PSG welcome 7th-placed Rennes to Paris on Sunday evening for a chance to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Luis Enrique’s men have 53 points after 22 games, 13 points clear of their nearest challenger, Brest.  

It is probably safe to say that the Parisians are clear favourites to retain the league title, and only an epic collapse could see them relinquish their lead at this stage. The hosts are unbeaten in their last 18 games (W14, D4), have scored 15 goals in their last 5 home games, and have lost just once in front of home support this season.  

With that said, Rennes stunned PSG at the Parc des Princes last season and will be hoping for a similar result again. Julien Stéphan‘s men are currently in fine form, suffering just one defeat in their last 11 games (W9, D1, L1), but their excellent run of form has come a bit late into the season, with the title all but gone.  

They are just 5 points off the top three places, and a spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League will be their ultimate goal. 

Take advantage of our expert betting tips today; back PSG to win and Mbappe to get on the scoresheet as usual. 

● Bet on PSG to win and both teams to score 

● Bet on Kylian Mbappe to score anytime 

**Chelsea vs Liverpool** 

In what promises to be a cracking affair, Chelsea will face Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.  

Both managers will be hungry for a trophy, with Mauricio Pochettino trying his hardest to show some progress this season, while Jurgen Klopp’s swansong season at Liverpool would be made even sweeter with a quadruple.  

Unfortunately for Chelsea, Pochettino has a wretched record against Klopp, winning just once in 13 managerial H2Hs (D4, L7, W1), including the 2019 UEFA Champions League final where Liverpool defeated Tottenham 2-0. 

Perhaps the Blues are due some good luck after being on the losing side of their last five Wembley finals, the last two appearances were against Liverpool, where they lost twice on penalties. 

Liverpool sit top of the Premier League and have lost once in their last 15 games — a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates. The Reds have also scored 21 goals in their last 6 games, and at least 3 goals in 6 of the last 8. Klopp’s men came back from a goal down to crush Luton Town 4-1 on Wednesday. On that occasion, the Liverpool manager was without Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, and Darwin Nunez, who are all also injury doubts for this game. 

**Verdict:** Chelsea have beaten Liverpool just once in the last 10 meetings and were completely dismantled in the last meeting at Anfield, with the Reds running out 4-1 winners.  

Mohamed Salah remains a major doubt, but Liverpool have proved they can thrive without him, winning 6 of the 7 games he missed from the start of the year. In the Egyptian’s absence, and Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez also unlikely to feature, we’re backing Luis Diaz to provide the goals for Liverpool. 

“both teams to score” has been a regular result for Chelsea; six of their last 7 games have ended with both teams scoring. We expect that trend to continue here. 

Our football prediction in the Carabao Cup final is for Liverpool to win and both teams to score. 

● Bet on Liverpool to win 

● Bet on both teams to score 

● Bet on Luis Diaz to score anytime 

As always, we offer you the chance to win big by betting on your favourite football teams this weekend. 

[Sign up now](https://m.betking.com/account/registration) to enjoy our new [“Bet and Get ₦600,000” welcome offer,](https://m.betking.com/help/bet-and-get-n-600-000) as well as some of the best odds and bonuses around in several online betting products. 

With a Carabao Cup Final, along with several exciting games billed for the weekend, we've compiled the best odds for you. Click to read and bet now!

Betting Tips

Weekend Betting Tips: Liverpool Face Chelsea In The Carabao Cup Final & 5 Other Big Games